No phones on ski trip

[AreTheyMad]

DD is going on a ski trip with school next week. We've just been informed they won't be allowed to use their phones during the day, only for an hour in the evening.
Would you be happy with your DC not being allowed to take their phones on the slopes?

I think it's mad, and I'm trying to formulate a mail which doesn't sound over protective pub! It means they can't call if they get separated from the group, check the map, if they injure themselves. What if the visibility is bad? Am I overreacting here?

I've been on numerous school trips as a teacher, both day and residential and experience says that phones cause way more problems than they solve. I also totally agree with another poster that when you dig down deeper, it mostly always comes down to the parent's anxiety, rather than genuine concerns for their child's safety.

You're imagining that a child with their phone on the trip is going to use it for 'good' reasons - to check visibility levels or a map or contact someone in the unlikely event they get separated. What's far more likely to happen is that they'll be dicking about on TikTok, filming or taking photos of each other or messaging their friends not on the trip. They don't listen to instructions and then who's fault will it be if a child gets injured? (Note, it will not be your child who'll be hauled in to explain themselves and go through the risk assessments!)

If you don't trust the school to keep your child safe, or you don't trust your child to follow instructions, then don't send her.

I'd be glad phones were banned.

We had a similar issue on my child's school trip, boy fell and did need medical attention but before the medics could even assess (it was a broken arm not life threatening) the rumour mill had him in intensive care and the parents were frantic. What the school were sensibly doing was getting treatment ahead of calling. The kids were all posting messages online, it was awful! The school hasn't run a ski trip since!

You are overreacting.
Phones on such trips lead to huge distraction and interruptions by parents and others constantly text/whatsapp/calling and more. The kids need to be 'in the moment' with what they are doing and who they are with.
The organisation will have all sorts in place in case of lost pupils and incident response, safeguarding etc. And lets be honest, part of being on such an adventurous trip is the kids learning to deal with minor issues like finding their way themselves - independently.

I have been on the other end so many times - and 99% of the time it is the parent that needs the contact, not the child who is happily with friends and actually finds it embarrasing / distraction / more that parent is pestering or needing to have contact.

Can they have their phones on them but are just not supposed to use them? Or are they supposed to leave them at the hotel?

I agree that it's much better safety-wise to have them. On previous trips to France, the fog was so bad every day that when it finally lifted on the last day, I had no idea where to ski. Turned out that there was a hotel in the middle of the slope and I had no idea which side of it I'd been ski-ing. Each side led on to a different trail. I'd barely been able to see my hand in front of my face the whole trip, and the others soon disappeared into the mist. I think she should have it on her. Obviously only use it in an emergency.

My DS went on the school ski trip when mobiles were not around… had a whale of a time and came back with a sunburnt face and a certificate for something or other to do with snowboarding.
He's an only child, and I was, of course, worried sick, but didn’t show it.

He then went to America for 2/3 weeks again with the school…( couldn’t sleep for worrying about him, again, didn’t show it )
The host family rang me to say he was currently horse riding (😱) in their paddock and what a “mighty fine” young man he was.

Horse riding???

After the shock of the actual call from US, i carried on worrying and again he carried on having a fabulous time.

You'll worry wether they have a phone or not OP, you’re a Mum, it’s what we do!
Just go with the flow, your DC will be fine! ⛷️

The children and teacher will be with a qualified skiing instructor too

Yes it’s a great idea! I wish we did phone free trips. They cause so much drama and angst in trips. I tried to get them removed overnight but couldn’t as it “isn’t policy” Why would you not want your child to have some phone free time.

From the students I teach, I doubt 10% would be able To use it to navigate somewhere.

School holiday with a load of kids.

1. It will do them some good to be away from their phones
2. You are trusting them to look after your child, trust them to make a decision about their phones
3. Loads of kids away from home with mobiles. What teacher wants to be pissing about with kids losing phones, calling home, taking photos every 2 seconds, taking inappropriate photos at night, cyber bullying etc etc etc

Maybe they just want them to concentrate on being friends, talking, listening and doing as they are told whilst enjoying a fun activity in amazing scenery.

I say all this as a parent who's DD travelled the globe from the age of 13 when she was representing the country in her sport. We got a call or a whatsapp on an evening to say she was ok and what she had done and that was it.

Teachers have enough to contend with on these trips without phones complicating things.

Personally I would suspect a child with a known medical issue would be allowed a phone strictly for emergency reasons. This phone doesn't need to be a smart phone though - it's strictly for a call. I would also say that the teacher should be within easy contact distance at a known location regardless anyway exactly because kids can't be trusted to ensure their phone is charged / not run out of battery because they've been tiktoking all day.

When I did speak to ds after the trip he was telling me of the pain in his feet from the ski boots and an injury with a pole, a bit of a scrap between some boys etc. I just thought, thank god you couldn't text me all the drama, I would have been worrying about his little toes and texting the teachers to give him paracetamol 😂

When I was at school the ski trips you were in the school first couple of days then free to try other slopes depending on ability ... teachers were around skiing themselves but certainly not the constant monitoring everyone else here is claiming.

I wouldnt be happy OP. I'd be asking them about how they would be keeping track of them considering they won't have a phone to call if they get separated.

Also saying people didnt have phones 30 years ago or whatever doesn't matter. They knew no one had phones then and planned and funded accordingly - it would be factored into staffing levels, what procedures they have in place etc. Knowing everyone has phones will have factored in to how all this has developed since then.

give her an air tag for her pocket. If she gos missing you’ll be able to see where she is. I put an AirTag my daughters coat when we go to busy places - she’s younger though.

My son went on ski trip in year 6 when he was 11 and phones were completely banned. They had allowed them year before and just caused issues in the evening. I was happy about it as they shouldn’t be so reliant on phones. My son didn’t miss it at all! I missed being able to chat to him but that’s my issue. He had an absolute blast and they are very well looked after in their groups- no one is going off skiing on their own. How old is your child?

Totally overreacting.

This is the end result of parents over involvement and children messaging every 5 minutes. Rumour mill goes haywire.

End result no more school trips. Its just not worth the hassle

If you don't trust the school to keep your child safe, or you don't trust your child to follow instructions, then don't send her.

This from a previous poster sums it up beautifully.

Excellent idea, they’ll get lost and you’ll have children and parents bleating non stop. They’ll be trying to video whilst skiing have an accident because of lack of control.

Well done the school 👏

Was this as an adult on holiday or a child on a school trip? School groups do not go out in the fog and ski in a line behind the instructor with a teacher at the back usually. I'd be astonished if this happened on a reputable s school trip with decent teachers.

I'm going to be that "back in my day" person now...

2003 - I went on a ski trip with my school when I was 13. No mobile phones - we all survived. I called my mum from a pay phone each night with an update.
Nobody got lost. We all had a brilliant time!

Are you British? Sounds to me that the expectations and experiences are highly cultural.

My (non UK) school skiing trip in Italy years ago, it was us and our PE teachers, no hired instructors.
The teachers were gradually building our independence by widening the allowed area.
We were expected to have our phones charged, and were equipped with teacher's phone number (probably not private number, I wouldn't know) in case we got lost or something.

Just to be clear
It was the second skiing trip, we had one locally two years previously which was more learning and technique focused, so they knew our skiing level.
I don't know whether it would work the same now.
Plus, we felt like getting a free range, but looking back it was crafted to manage the risks - starting on one slope everyone, forming small groups, anyone doing anything dangerous would be grounded to skiing with the teachers. We were grateful and mostly behaved.

You aren't tagging the daughter. You are tagging the coat. Also airtags only work because you have close proximity to someone's phone. If your daughter is so lost she's not near other people, then it's kinda pointless.

Again there are so many issues with not understanding what you are actually tracking and how tracking works and what it's weaknesses are.

Imagine the kerfuffle too if a child lost their phone off a chairlift - bet the school would be blamed for that too.

Honestly I don’t envy the teachers and schools.

seriously how many children have gone missing on a school ski trip?

Mobile phones for any school trips are completely banned from my sons schools, unless for medical reasons, so a type one diabetic could take one, they would however tape the camera.

Why so many parents are so desperate to stalk their children and insist their child uses a camera on a residential is bizarre to me. When did so many parents become so keen on giving children cameras in shared bedrooms?

If a parent thinks their childs phone is part of their child then they need to take the choice to turn down opportunities unless they include phone use.

OMG heaven forbid what trauma call the police!!! Back in my day you had 2p to make a call or reversed the charges...you can have a load of kids taking selfies on the slopes, if they dont like it dont go on the trip...